Robots, Dingoes and Frogs, Oh My!
by Tirsh
Summary: Jamtastic domestic baby bliss. Lots of Daddy!Sam. Heavy fluff warning attached. Chapter 2 updated! More jammy fluff and Daddy!Sam - and some team picnic fun by popular demand Post Slow Burn - spoilers throughout. Chapter 3 now updated! Jammy fluff - potato salad fun!
1. Robots, Dingoes & Frogs Oh My!

Robots, Dingoes and Frogs, Oh My!

**A/N: This story was written in response to a very specific request from a couple of writer friends for some fluffy domestic baby Jam bliss and even more specifically for some daddy!Sam – so if that's not your thing – you have been warned. To recap: Fluff. Jam Baby. Daddy!Sam This takes place in the same universe as my other two stories but you certainly don't need to read those to get this. Also there is talk of breast feeding – it's perfectly natural but if that bothers you please feel free to skip over it – and if that immediately brought to mind Joey Tribbiani saying "yeah, but there's a baby sucking on it" then you should totally come sit next to me!**

**I think the flashbacks are pretty obvious but I put them in italics just in case. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine. If they were I wouldn't be so damn secretive about the air date for the new episodes! **

Sam woke as he often did, in a tangle of limbs with his lovely wife tucked in close, her head on his chest, but this morning there was something different. Something he couldn't quite wrap his brain around in his sleepy haze. Was he…wet? Yes, yes he was. There was definitely something wet seeping into his t-shirt. He lifted his head, trying to assess the situation without waking Jules but she was already starting to stir. "Sam? Wha—"

"Jules, honey," he nudged her gently, "I think you've sprung a leak."

"Wait… is it light out? Did she-?" she pushed herself up so she could see the clock on Sam's nightstand. 6:18 AM. "She did. She slept through the night." Well that explained the leak. Oh crap, the leak! She started to sit up, "Sam, I'm so sorry. Here let me—"

He pulled her back in close, "Relax, we're already wet, a few minutes isn't going to hurt anything. I'm sure the quiet won't last." He kissed the top of her head. "Morning."

She looked up at him, grinning, "Morning."

"Wait, do you think she's okay? She's never slept through before. Should we be worried?"

"She's fine. Listen," soft sighing and suckling sounds could be heard through the monitor.

"Sounds like somebody found her fist. Our baby is so smart!"

"She is," Jules giggled , "So smart that I figure we have about thirty seconds before she figures out that it's not working."

"Remember when we could just lay around in bed all morning on our days off?" he sighed in mock annoyance as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

"It's only been three months, Sam. Of course I remember." She rested her chin on his chest so she could look at him, "Would you trade it?"

"Not a chance. And now if you'll excuse me," he sat up, dropping a quick kiss on her lips, "I am going to go collect my baby so her mama can feed her."

As he stood up he pulled his wet t-shirt off over his head, balled it up and sunk a solid three point shot in the hamper in the corner, his wife appreciating his perfect form as he did so. "Geez Sam, would it have killed you to gain just a few sympathy pounds?"

He laughed as he rifled through the drawer and pulled out a fresh shirt. He tossed it at Jules so she could change. "Weigh-in every week Jules. Gotta maintain or Ed will kick my ass!" She pulled a pillow off the bed and, with the perfect aim she was known for, hit him square in the ass with it as he walked out the door laughing.

Things were so quiet as he approached the nursery, Sam was afraid she had soothed herself right back to sleep. Now that he was up, he wanted his little girl to be up too and "you never ever wake up a sleeping baby. What are you crazy?" Or so he'd been told. Geez, you wake your daughter up on purpose just one time because you missed her while you were at work and you never hear the end of it. In hindsight, it's possible there may have been some post partum emotion involved at the time but still, he was not a man who made the same mistake twice.

He needn't have worried though, when he peeked into her crib he was met with his own baby blues staring back at him. Wide awake, contentedly sucking on one fist and waving the other haphazardly about, she started pumping her tiny feet in excitement when she saw him. "Well, hello Froggie," he reached in and scooped her out of her crib. "Someone had a big sleep! You didn't even wake mommy up for a snack in the middle of the night," he tucked her against his chest and went to put his other hand under her bum quickly pulling it back, "ohhh and you are as leaky as your mama but in a whole different way. I think we need some new jamas."

He kept up a steady stream of chatter to distract her while he dug through the drawer. "Speaking of your mama, do you know what I found out? Sneaky mommy has been using the baby monitor to eavesdrop on our morning chats." He tossed a diaper shirt and a fresh sleeper on the change table. "I think maybe she just misses people talking in her ear on the comm. link at work, but too bad," he waved her little hand for her at the baby monitor, "Say bye bye sneaky mommy, not your business." He turned the transmit knob to off before putting her down gently on the change table. As he stripped off her wet clothes he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Yeah, daddy's probably going to be in some trouble for that later. Oh well, why should today be any different from any other day?" he grinned at her, "You are seriously wet – sometimes I think you wouldn't complain if you were on fire. Let's get you in some dry jams so we can go see mommy and get you some breakfast! What have we got here? Pink… robots? These must be from Uncle Spike. And I guarantee Auntie Nat did not approve."

Down the hall, Jules was washing her face and had to laugh as Sam turned off the baby monitor. She was guilty as charged. She "eavesdropped" as Sam had put it, on them every chance she got because they were just too cute not to. Sam had taken to fatherhood the same way he took to everything else, like the poster boy that he was. She had expected that he would be eager and helpful and that he would adapt well to the demands on his time and of course he had been trained to deal with sleep deprivation, but what had come as a complete surprise to her was the chatter.

For the most part, Sam was a man of few words. Perhaps because he was raised in a military household where children were "seen and not heard," maybe because he spent his formative years with Natalie and couldn't get a word in edgewise, most certainly because of his own military experience, he was not one for idle chit chat. On the job, he said what needed to be said, nothing more, nothing less. Out with the team after work, he was content to sit back and let Spike and Ed carry the bulk of the conversation, throwing in only the odd observation or pointed barb. At home, he was happy to talk to her, but by the same token, if he went hours without saying a word she didn't think anything was amiss. But with their daughter he was different. From day one she had been constantly amazed by his endless capacity for one-sided conversation with his baby. And if she stopped to think about the day in the not too distant future when their little girl would be a full participant in those conversations, it was almost too much for her to process, or at least it was while post pregnancy hormones were still coursing through her.

She quickly brushed her teeth and grabbed a glass of water before crawling back into bed to wait. She heard the first plaintive wail from down the hall so she knew it wouldn't be long now.

"I know, I know. You're starving and that silly fist doesn't have any more milk in it. See look, there's mommy! I told you we'd find her." Sam handed Jules the big round nursing pillow he'd brought from the baby's room and gave her a minute to get organized before handing over his little bundle.

Jules held out her arms to take her from him, "Come here sweetie. Let's get you some breakfast."

Sam made his own quick trip to the bathroom and then settled back into bed. He tucked in close beside them, hip to hip with Jules, his left hand lightly rubbing her back, his right pinky finger firmly clutched in a tiny little fist and his heart completely full. As he rested his chin on Jules' shoulder, marveling at his two beautiful girls, he thought about her question from earlier. He wasn't sure he had ever allowed himself to even wish for this, nevermind truly believe that this could be his, not with the things he'd seen, the things he had done, but now that he had it, he wouldn't trade it for anything. This was the new lazy Saturday in bed and there was no place he'd rather be.

"She's so perfect," Jules lightly ran the pads of her fingers over her sweet little cheek.

"She's you," he said quietly, kissing her on the cheek. And it was true. Their baby may have had his eyes but everything else, from her delicate features to her rosy cheeks to her tiny bow lips, was all Jules. Her hair colour was technically still to be determined because she didn't actually have any yet, but her dark lashes and the lack of a blonde anywhere in the Callaghan family tree put the smart money on brown.

"Sam," she started a note of censure in her voice.

"I know what you're going to say. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just slipped out."

"You HAVE to stop calling her that before it sticks."

"But it's so cute and perfect and… cute," he protested.

"It's cute now. She'll hate you for it when she's 12."

"Yeah, but can't I just buy her love then?" he grinned at her, "Besides you totally started it."

"I absolutely did not." Jules rolled her eyes at him as she pried the baby away from her breast so she could burp her.

"Can I do the burp?" Sam asked, draping his shoulder in a receiving blanket and holding out his arms.

"Be my guest," she handed her over.

"There we go, let's have a nice big burp for daddy," he patted her on the back as he picked up the discussion where they had left off, "Now let's refresh, shall we, my little froggie?"

"Sam…"

"No, Jules, this is important because…well because honestly the ship has kind of already sailed on the "before it sticks" thing. So if she's going to tell her shrink about it someday, she should get the details right. So anyway, it was daddy's day off and we were just having a little nap, minding our own business while mommy said she was going 'out for coffee'" he made air quotes with his fingers mid pat, "with Uncle Spike, which we all know now was a big fat lie," he looked pointedly at Jules who laughed and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Don't tell her I lied."

"Relax, she doesn't know what the words mean. It's all about tone. So, it all started with mommy's lie…"

"Sam! I didn't lie –we did go for coffee first and I was sworn to secrecy!"

"A lie of omission is still a lie," he grinned at her, "now where were we…"

_The baby was six weeks old when Jules left her and Sam home alone for the first time – it wasn't that she didn't trust him before that but they were still feeding on demand and at six weeks the baby was finally willing to take a bottle from him so mommy was free to sneak out for a bit. So when Spike called offering to take her out for coffee in exchange for help with a special purchase, she jumped at the chance. _

_Sam was sitting at the kitchen table finishing up his breakfast when Jules brought the baby downstairs. "Okay, she's clean, she's dry and I topped her up so hopefully you won't even have to feed her. And I'll be back in a couple of hours." _

_He stood up to take her from Jules, "It's okay, Babe. We've got this," he tucked the baby in the crook of one arm and wrapped the other around his wife pulling her in for a kiss, "Go have fun with Spike. We love you. We'll be just fine and we know where to find you if we need you." _

"_Okay, okay. I'm going." She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, tossing a look back over her shoulder at him, "You have any plans to get dressed today?" _

_He looked down at his boxer shorts and shrugged, "Maybe not. It's hot." _

"_Yeah well, Spike is going to want to come in and 'squeeze the baby' when we get back."_

"_Jules, we've been sharing a locker room for like six years – he's seen my boxers."_

_She rolled her eyes, "Some 'outside' shorts Sam, that's all I'm asking." _

_As the door closed behind her he said, "Looks like it's just you and me, Peanut," he headed back over to the table, grabbing his phone off the counter as he did so, "How long before mommy texts us do you think? I give her 20 minutes tops. While we wait, let's read daddy's stories," he flipped open his Hockey News Weekly, scanning the articles, chatting "with" her the whole time. Him explaining excitedly about how "this could be the year" and her cooing and gurgling in what he could only assume was complete agreement. "Now, Uncle Spike and Uncle Sarge are going to try to fill your head with all kinds of nonsense about the Maple Leafs but that can only lead to heartbreak. In this house we cheer for the Canucks. And Uncle Eddie… well, it's probably best if you just don't listen to anything he says." _

_Sam's phone blipped. "And there's mommy right on schedule," he showed her the screen, "She wants to know how things are going. What do you think? Should I tell her you were kidnapped by a dingo?" he quickly typed a response. "Mommy is not amused. Bet Uncle Spike thought it was pretty funny though," he grinned at her. To her credit, Jules did not text again. _

_Sam had taken up residence on the couch for naptime. Having already pushed his husbandly luck with the text, he had reluctantly changed into more presentable shorts and stripped the baby down to her little green diaper shirt before lying down and settling her on his chest for a quick snooze. Little fist in her mouth, cheek to his chest, heartbeat to heartbeat, little bum sticking up in the air and her little feet out to the sides, tiny toes digging into his ribs, neither of them could have possibly been more content. _

_They were still there when Jules slipped in quietly a couple hours later, her heart clutching as she came around the corner and saw her little family sleeping so peacefully. She perched on the edge of the couch at Sam's hip and, unable to resist, reached out and ruffled the soft blond hair at his forehead. This beautiful man, as comfortable in shorts holding a sleeping baby as he was wearing Kevlar holding a Remy – was it really any wonder she had risked everything for him?"_

"_Hi," he blinked the sleep away, "How was your date?" _

"_Good, how was yours?" she smiled at them both. "I see the dingo brought her back without a scratch."_

_Sam at least had the decency to look chagrined, "It was a tough negotiation but I channeled my wife and talked him down like a pro. Where's Spike?" _

"_Checking in with Nat, he'll be along in a minute." _

"_You made him wait outside so you could see if I was decent, didn't you?" _

"_Maybe. He IS on the phone though," She ghosted her fingertips down baby's back, careful not to wake her but truly understanding for the first time how hard it was for Sam to be away from her all day. She'd only been gone a few hours and she'd missed her desperately. "How long has your little tree frog here been asleep?" _

"So you see," Sam bounced her gently as he rubbed her back still looking for a burp, "clearly mommy is to blame."

Jules just shook her head at him, "One innocent comment…"

"And a nickname was born," he concluded and then cracked up as his delicate little girl let loose a belch worthy of a trucker, "I suppose it could have been worse – piggy!" He buried his nose in the crook of her little neck and snorfled her for a minute, making her giggle before handing her back to Jules. "Don't worry, babe, I'm sure we can find a way to pin the whole thing on Uncle Spike.

"He did make me leave the house that day…" Jules agreed settling baby in to nurse on the other side, "It's totally his fault. It's you she's going to hate for it though."

He shot her a playful grin, "She can try, but I'm pretty irresistible."

"Even if you do say so yourself," she rolled her eyes at his cocky bravado before saying more seriously, "You know she does have a nickname, a legitimate nickname that we agreed on but you never use it."

"Sure I do. I use it all the time," he said realizing even as he protested that she was absolutely right. He thought of all the things he called her in the course of a day – Froggie, Peanut, Boo, Piggypants, Sweetie pie, Cutie, Babalu, Schmoopy - the list went on and on but none of them were her name.

"You really don't," she turned her head to look up at him, "Do you wish we had gone with something else?"

"No, of course not," he leaned in to reassure with a kiss, "I love it. I love it now as much as I did when we chose it. Really," he said, thinking back to that day.

"_So…" _

"_So…" _

"_This is …"_

"_Unexpected."_

"_Right? I mean I thought for sure – you?" _

"_But it's good right?" They were sitting facing each other, the small black and white picture on the bed between them, as Jules looked up, chocolate brown eyes meeting still surprised blue. _

"_Really good," Sam nodded and he meant it. From the beginning, they had agreed not to find out the sex of the baby. Healthy was the only thing that really mattered and they were looking forward to the surprise, but truthfully they were both convinced they were having a boy. Every pregnancy "myth" to gender guessing party game had pointed to boy. Jules was convinced it "felt" like a boy and Sam was absolutely sure he wanted a boy. But a 3-D ultrasound at seven and half months had left little to the imagination that day. Even the amateurs who didn't really want to know could see that they were clearly, most definitely having a girl. And now that the information was sinking in, Sam found himself positively giddy at the idea. "Jules?" _

"_Yeah?" _

"_I'm really excited about this." _

"_I am too actually," she was particularly delighted by the idea of her husband with a little girl. "Thank goodness the nursery is neutral and we weren't dumb enough to start buying clothes or anything." _

"_No, but we haven't really even talked about a name for a girl. Any thoughts on that?" _

_She shook her head, "I think we're going to need the book," she shifted awkwardly, trying to get more comfortable but with little success. Jules was still in great shape but the extra baby pounds were really taking a toll on her tiny frame in the later stages of her pregnancy, particularly on the muscles in her back and along her left side. Muscles that had never been the same since a sniper's bullets had ripped through them. _

_Sam grabbed the book off the night stand and then leaned back against the headboard, knees raised so she could sit between them. He patted the space, "Come sit here and I'll rub your back while you read the names." _

_Jules settled in and they started with the top 100 list, promptly rejecting most of the names for reasons ranging from 'too common' to 'doesn't sound right with Braddock' to 'ugh I knew one of those in grade 9'. "Okay," she laughed when they were done, "that was helpful." _

"_We could do it celebrity style – just pick like two random objects and put the words together and call it a name." _

"_You know if you weren't currently working your magic back there that I would call you an idiot right?" _

"_Yeah I know," he grinned. "We could name her after her mama." _

"_No way." _

"_Why not? You were all hot to name a boy after me." _

"_Which you vetoed but it makes sense for boys. I mean what, is she going to be Jules Jr.? " The tone of her voice spoke volumes about just how dumb she thought that idea was. _

_Sam rolled his eyes, "I was thinking more along the lines of Julianna." _

"_Nah. She should have her own name," she grunted, appreciating his skill as he worked a tough knot, "What if we named her after your sister?" _

"_Joy?" _

"_I like it." she said simply, "It would be nice to honour her." _

"_I don't want to put all that…stuff… on our baby. Maybe as a middle name though. I'll think about it." _

"_Fair enough, back to the drawing board," she picked up the book again and started making suggestions. _

"_I thought most little girls had their weddings planned and their babies named before they were done grade school." _

"_Most little girls don't grow up to be snipers either." _

"_This is true," he grinned, she was definitely not "most girls." _

_It was many, many minutes later, when Jules, out of pure frustration, said "Okay, pick a page between 10 and 112," that Sam realized they were going to need to try something different. Then he had an epiphany. _

"_What if we compromise? I get what I want. You get what you want. We put the names together but we use the initials as a nickname so she still has her own thing." _

"_So… Julianna Joy?" _

_He nodded, "but we call her JJ." _

"I do love JJ. It just seems so grown up for her little self. I think maybe she just needs to grow into it a little." He leaned in to kiss her again, "But for you, I will try. Less Froggie, more JJ."

She finished feeding JJ and handed her off for the burp again, "You guys okay for awhile if I take a shower and stuff?"

"Yeah, we'll go make some breakfast, won't we?" he rubbed noses with the baby before settling her up on his shoulder so he could coax a burp out of her, "What time is the picnic?"

"Thought we'd leave 11ish - whenever she wakes up from her morning nap."

"Perfect."

Down in the kitchen, Sam grabbed the little bouncy chair and put it up in the middle of the island. "Here we go. Daddy's going to need both hands, so let's put you in here so you can see what's going on." He strapped her in and she excitedly kicked her little feet, gurgling happily at him.

He dug a bunch of ingredients out of the fridge and put them on the island so he could keep an eye on her while he worked. Then he turned on the oven and took the broiler pan out from the drawer. As he started laying out the strips he said, "This is bacon. You're not allowed to have bacon yet, but trust me – it is worth the wait. Mommy will try to convince you that that powered crap she puts in her smoothies is protein, but this," he held up a strip so she could see it, "is what real protein looks like. Mommy also likes to tell you that she doesn't eat bacon which is why daddy always puts extra on his plate and pretends not to notice when she steals like 4 pieces. Because that's what you do when you love someone." He popped the pan into the oven and set the timer. "Also if anybody asks – mommy's smoothies are delicious."

He washed his hands and brought the cutting board over to the island so he could chop some veggies. "It's a big day today! It's team one family picnic day. All of your people will be there and you're going to be a big hit. Daddy probably won't even get to hold you all day. But later, we'll go for a little walk down the beach and I'll show you the spot where daddy proposed to mommy. And where, in a moment of weakness and questionable judgement, she said 'yes.' Lucky for you I suppose or you wouldn't exist." He grabbed the little fist she was waving at him and kissed it noisily, earning a big giggle.

He tossed the vegetables in a frying pan to sauté them and started cracking eggs in a bowl. "Now, when you start dating – and by the way, mommy and I have discussed this and we think 35 is a perfectly reasonable age for that – you want to beware of the guy that makes a great omelette. Especially if it is the ONLY thing he knows how to make. That, is what we in the profiling business, call a 'red flag.' Just run away."

Jules, who had, until now, been listening on the stairs, could resist no more. She trotted the rest of the way down the stairs and made her way to the fridge, pulling out the orange juice carton. "Something smells delicious. Juice?"

"Sure, thanks."

She took two glasses down from the cupboard and poured, "Good thing for you, nobody warned me about guys who only know how to make omelettes,"

He grinned sheepishly raising his glass to his lips, "Yeah, well, I know how to make lots of stuff now."

"Oh and Sam?" she put her glass down on the counter and stepped closer to him putting her arms up around his neck.

"Yes, my love?" he put his own glass down and looped his arms around her back, grinning.

"In the future, I would appreciate it if you would not use the words 'moment of weakness and questionable judgement' to tell our daughter about the smartest decision her mommy ever made."

"I'll make a note of that."

"And my smoothies ARE delicious."

**A/N: Well if you got all the way here, thanks for sticking with it**! **It kind of took on a life of its own because I really love Daddy!Sam.**** Reviews are loved and appreciated! Liz, I hope it met with your stringent requirements and Molly Lyn sorry I didn't quite get it up in time for your birthday but I hope it was happy! **


	2. A Very Froggie Picnic

**A/N: So I truly never intended to write the team picnic but so many of you asked so nicely in your reviews and what not, that I got persuaded. Writing the team is not really my thing so hopefully it all came out okay and nobody is too far off the mark! Enjoy and let me know what you think. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Except Froggie.**

A Very Froggie Picnic

"How come you get to be the hero with the baby and I'm the Sherpa?" Sam grumbled good- naturedly as they walked away from the Jeep toward the beach, Jules carrying JJ and the diaper bag while he was loaded down with absolutely everything else; chairs, a blanket, an umbrella, the cooler, assorted baby paraphernalia. "Also did we have a baby or a Babies R Us outlet?"

"Oh shush. You're just cranky because you know she's about to get confiscated and you won't get to hold her all day."

"Pretty damn good reason to be cranky if you ask me," but he smiled as he said it because if he were honest, part of him was kind of excited to show off his awesome baby.

"At least you get to drink beer," Jules muttered wistfully. "I remember beer."

He knew he could argue with her that it would be fine and they were covered with pumped bottles and if she really wanted to have a beer it wasn't going to hurt anyone. She hardly ever drank more than two anyway, but he also knew it would be wasted breath, so instead he tried another approach. "On the upside, you do have the perfect excuse to not drink any of Spike's latest vintage."

"This is true." She looked sideways at him, "And you're not breastfeeding Sam, so you can stop trying to figure out how to somehow make that work for you too."

"I could play the solidarity card."

"Yeah," she grinned at him, "but then you can't have any beer either."

He glanced up at the cloudless sky and thought about the beach volleyball he was likely going to play later and shrugged, "Gonna be a scorcher today. You're probably on your own."

"I figured. Love you too, Sam."

He laughed and made a little kissy face at her. "That's what you get for hogging the baby and making me schlep all the stuff."

JJ's unprecedented sleep through the night had pushed her nap back so the picnic was already well underway when the Braddock family arrived shortly before lunch. Winnie, in her usual role as picnic planner had booked three full picnic sites for their growing Team One family, so they had a good section of the beach all to themselves. Jules scoped out the scene as they got close. Marina was at one picnic table, working with Shelly to organize all the food while nearby Ed and Wordy manned the BBQ. They were deep in conversation over the proper way to grill a steak, which was typical but also ridiculous given the fare for the day was hamburgers and hot dogs. Down at the other end of the tables Natalie was watching and laughing with Winnie as Spike and the younger boys were engaged in a heated arm-wrestling battle, the timing of which Jules suspected was arranged specifically to keep Spike from kibitzing at the grill. Hank, Raf and Sarge were tossing a Frisbee around down near the water's edge. Not too far away, Wordy's eldest was helping Izzy build a sand castle, while his younger two splashed in the shallows and Sophie and Donna stood chatting nearby, keeping a close watch on all the girls.

Sam found a shady spot on a grassy strip not too far from the tables, "Here okay?"

"Perfect," Jules set down the baby carrier and helped Sam divest himself of all their stuff. They each grabbed a corner of the blanket and laid it out on the ground. "Probably don't even need the umbrella, unless we lose the shade later."

"Nope," he kneeled down on the blanket in front of the baby carrier to take JJ out. He quickly undid the harness and eased the straps aside, "Come here, Froggie, let's get you out of here before Auntie Nat swoops in and steals you."

"Too late," Jules said under her breath as she saw Sam's sister making a beeline for them, "I think we've been spotted."

"You think?" he asked rhetorically as he got to his feet. He held the baby against his chest with one arm and fixed her little hat with his other hand, "There we go, sweetie. Gotta keep your hat on today. Lots of sun and no hair is a bad combination - just ask Uncle Sarge and Uncle Eddie."

"Hey guys! We were starting to wonder about you," Natalie cheerfully held out her arms to Jules who stepped in for a hug.

"Yeah well, at the moment we're on her schedule. She slept through the night which is great but it messed up our whole routine this morning."

"Well, your timing is perfect. Lunch is almost ready," she stepped over to Sam who held out his free arm for a half hug as she kissed him on the cheek.

"So you've come to collect the potato salad?" Sam feigned innocence, as if he didn't know what she was really there for.

"Yes, exactly. The potato salad," she said as she plucked the baby right out of Sam's arms. "Hello little Miss JJ! How about we go see Uncle Spike?" She waved JJ's little hand for her as she shot a cheeky grin at her brother, "Say 'bye bye daddy – see you later.' We need to get back because it's our job to distract Uncle Spike if he makes a move for the grill."

Jules stood arms akimbo and watched as they headed back to the picnic tables, "Well, that was predictable."

"Yep," Sam grinned at her," it was easier to get that baby back from the dingo than it ever is to pry her out of my sister's hands."

"Again with the dingo? You're such a goof," she shook her head at him affectionately, "So, you want to go make the rounds first or have some lunch?"

"Why don't we start the rounds over by the food and see what happens?" he said bending over to grab the potato salad out of the cooler.

"Oh I have a pretty good idea what's going to happen but it's been a while since we enjoyed a meal uninterrupted. This might just be our chance."

"Shall we?" he held out his free hand and she took it, linking her fingers with his. Even though they were married with a baby and had been legit for a couple of years, they had been a secret for a long time and old habits had died hard, so it still gave Sam a little thrill when she held his hand in public. He had a feeling it always would.

Ed looked up from the grill as they approached the tables, "Samo! You're late. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'd say it's a good thing it's my day off so my TL will probably cut me some slack," he stopped just short of rolling his eyes.

"Well now that depends. Is that by any chance Jules' famous potato salad you're holding there?"

"If it is, does that let me off the hook?" Sam smirked because thanks to his untimely arrival in the kitchen a few hours earlier he had learned that 'Jules' famous potato salad' was more like Costco potato salad in Jules' famous bowl. Apparently he wasn't the only secret she had kept from team one for years and at the moment she was squeezing the life out of his hand, reminding him that he had promised to keep her secret. He had, in fact, been rewarded brilliantly for that promise during JJ's nap.

"I believe it does," Ed looked to Wordy for confirmation, who nodded his approval.

"Then yes, it is most definitely Jules' famous potato salad." He winked at Jules and left her to say her hellos as he went to add it to the food table.

Shelly had moved off to collect her girls for lunch but Marina was still standing by the food, "Sam, hi!" she took the bowl from him as she gave him a hug, "I see you lost your baby already."

He nodded, "Yep, that didn't take long at all," he glanced at the table, "Marina, did you make cupcakes just for me?" he shot her a playful smile.

She giggled, "Yes, Sam. I made cupcakes just for you, but I think Spike is hoping that you'll share."

"You know what? I'm feeling generous today. Cupcakes for everyone!" He announced, moving down to the end of the tables where Spike and Clark were head to head and hand to hand locked in a very back and forth arm wrestling match. Sam clapped his hands on Spike's shoulders, "Spikey! You taking on all challengers or just the ones you know you can beat?"

"Hey!" Clark protested laughing, "Rude!"

"Actually, he's pretty strong … for a civilian." Spike joked, careful not to let his guard down because it was true. Clark really was giving him a run for his money.

"Must be all those years lugging that cello around," Sam turned his attention to Winnie and Natalie who were standing nearby cooing at his baby. Who, at the sound of her daddy's voice started kicking and gurgling excitedly, randomly waving her little fist about. He grabbed it and gave it a big noisy smacking kiss earning a happy little squeal. "Steal my baby if you must," he said to Nat, "but clearly I'm still her favourite!" He playfully stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"Really mature, Sam."

"I'm just saying!" he held his arms out wide, palms up in an exaggerated shrug.

"Sam!"Jules materialized at his side to drag him by the hand back to the food, "Don't alienate the future babysitters. We're going to need them!" She shoved a plate at him, "Here, fill this up and try to stay out of trouble." Behind his wife's back he caught Natalie's eye and stuck his tongue out one more time then dutifully went about loading his plate.

When everyone had gathered back at the tables and settled in to eat lunch, Winnie stood up, clipboard in hand. "While I have you all in one place, I'm taking sign-ups for the volleyball tournament this afternoon. Due to the newly instituted BCD rule, the winning team from the last two years will not be allowed to play together this year."

Sam and Jules exchanged a glance and a 'what're you going to do?' shrug while Marina asked, confused, "BCD rule?"

"Big Chicken Dinner," Greg explained to her.

"Because you're all a-scared of the three-peat," Sam piped up.

"So far," Winnie stepped in, "We have Clark and Dean taking on all comers. Who's next?"

"What do you say, Samtastic? Should we show these amateurs how it's done?"

"Somebody's got to," he nodded at Spike as Winnie put their names down.

Ed, not one to back down from a challenge was next, "Constable Wordsworth? Care to help me put on a clinic for the youngsters?" Having just taken a huge bite of his burger, Wordy could only nod.

"Winnie, I could use some height at the net to help me school these boys. You interested?"

"Very. Thanks Jules," she made a quick note on her clipboard.

Donna teamed up with Sarge and Raf paired with Natalie to round out the roster with Sophie, Shelly and Marina begging off because "somebody has to watch the kids."

"Sorry, what's that Hank?" Ed held his hand up to his ear and leaned toward a baffled Hank, "Winnie, Hank would like to know where the meeting place is for the lawn darts and shuffleboard tournament."

"Ed!" Sophie and Donna scolded at the same time over a chorus of wounded "ohhhs" from the rest of the team.

"Actually," Winnie winked at Hank, "Hank has graciously agreed to be our net and line judge today so he will sadly not be available for the shuffleboard tourney."

"Yeah, I'll probably have my hands pretty full," Hank joked with a grateful glance at Winnie, "bound to be plenty of close calls that could go either way." It had taken him a little while to find his footing within the SRU family but once Donna explained the playground dynamics to him things were easier. Ed was the proverbial pigtail puller; the more he hassled you, the more he liked you. Sometimes he thought he must be Ed's favourite person.

"Methinks Constable Lane may live to regret that comment." Spike laughed.

Donna, thinking perhaps a change of subject was in order, turned to Ed's son. "So, Clarky, I heard tell you've got a girlfriend. Where is she today? When do we get to meet her?"

Clark, turning pink right to the tips of his ears, looked down at his plate, "She had to work. And possibly never," or not for as long as I can help it, he finished in his head.

Sam had been privy to many locker room discussions about the subject over the last few weeks so he knew just how serious they were getting and how uncomfortable Ed was with the whole idea so he couldn't resist poking the bear a little. "How's that going for you, Ed?" he grinned, blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Laugh it up while you can there Chuckles. Just wait until your little angel starts dating and see how you feel then."

Spike shook his head in sympathy for the hypothetical future boyfriend of Sam's daughter, "Would so not want to be that dude picking JJ up for a date. It was terrifying enough when it was his little sister" he caught a sideways glance from Natalie, "totally worth it though, Honey" he reassured her.

"I can see it now," Raf joked, "Sam cleaning his rifle at the kitchen table…"

"Nah," Sam threw his arm around his wife, "We're going to leave all that to Jules."

"Jules?" Hank sounded skeptical, "Why Jules?"

"When you grow up dating on base the dads are a dime a dozen. You start to think something's up if there ISN'T a dad greeting you with his gun in hand. I'll never forget the first time it was a mom though. She scared the crap out of me, sitting there at the dining room table, calm as can be breaking down her Remy. Had a good long look at me through the scope," he shuddered at the memory. "I don't even remember the poor girl's name but she's probably STILL single because I do remember that I was on my very best behaviour that night and I never had the nerve to ask her out again."

"You don't remember her name?" Spike shook his head in mock disgust, "Not cool, Samtastic, not cool at all."

"Oh shut up," he lobbed a grape at him, "I was fifteen and it was one date. And apparently you didn't hear the rest of the story – I was traumatized by the lady with the sniper rifle."

"That where your thing for lady snipers started?" Raf smirked at him.

"My thing? Geez Raf, You make it sound so tawdry – like I have a type or something, like any lady sniper would do. There's just the one for me."

"There better be," Jules warned good-naturedly.

Wordy nudged his wife, "What do you think Shel? Should we get Jules to teach you some moves before the girls start dating?"

As people finished eating they drifted away from the tables with assorted promises to meet back at the volleyball nets at the appointed time, leaving just a few stragglers behind, Sam and Jules among them. Sam was polishing off his second cupcake when Jules glanced at her watch, "I think I better go find Winnie and make sure she doesn't put us down for the first game."

"Feeding time?"

"It will be by then," she glanced down the table in the direction of Natalie who still had their baby ensconced in her lap while Spike talked animatedly to both of them, "on the plus side, at least I'll get to hold my own damn baby for the 20 minutes it takes her to scarf down her lunch."

"Show off," Sam stuck out his bottom lip in a playful pout.

"Those two need to get their own baby," Jules joked.

Sam winced. "Jules. Eww. Why do you have to make me go there in my head like that?"

"Oh grow up, Sam," she chided but she softened the words with a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Anyway, if Spike knocks her up before he actually marries her, the General will kick his ass."

"This is true," Jules agreed.

"For that matter, so will she. That girl has had her wedding planned since she was twelve years old and I am pretty sure those plans didn't include a shotgun or a maternity gown."

Jules choked on a laugh as she stood up, "I'm off. Try to not to eat ALL the cupcakes," she ruffled his hair affectionately before heading off to find Winnie. Sam took a long drink of his beer, pondering the couple at the end of the table. He was pretty sure that no matter how much he approved of their relationship, the idea of them would always be a little bit weird to him.

Even though Jules had kept mum about her date and secret shopping excursion with Spike that day, Sam was still kind of surprised he hadn't seen their engagement coming. He supposed his first clue should have been when Jules flat out insisted that he go to the Goose with the guys after shift one night, when what he had really wanted to do was come home and curl up with his girls. And certainly he should have known something was up when the usually uber talkative, rock steady bomb tech had pulled him aside, all twitchy and fumbling over his words but he had still been blind-sided when his best friend had asked him for his blessing to marry his sister. Spike had assured him that he would also ask the General but wanted Sam to know that his blessing was the only one that really mattered to him and to Natalie.

He'd willingly given it of course, because certainly his sister could find no one more honourable or more loyal and decent, or more worthy of Sam's respect than Spike. He was so different from her usual brand of loser that Sam referred to him privately as a momentary lapse in Nat's bad judgement. And, after more than two years together, he was almost convinced that Spike knew what he was signing up for with Natalie. Sam, albeit grudgingly, did give her credit - she had changed and grown up a great deal in the last couple of years but she was still Nat and she still drove him crazy. He loved his sister dearly but it wasn't exactly a coincidence that his wife was the anti-Natalie in so many ways.

He shook his head and tore his attention away from them only to find a friendly little face staring at him from the other side of the picnic table. "Hi Samo." Like father, like daughter he thought.

"Hey, Peanut. Whatcha up to?"

"Swimming poo." She said pointing at the lake.

"What?! You were swimming and you pooped in the lake?" he asked in mock exaggeration, sending her into fits of giggles. Bathroom humour was always a big hit with the 3-year-olds.

"Noooooo." She shook her head back and forth, "Come swimming in the poo! Peas?"

"You want ME to swim in the poopies? That's gross Iz. Why would I want to do that?" he grinned at her, pretty sure this conversation was going to end with him taking an ice cold dip in the lake.

"Samo." She furrowed her little brow at him. "No poop! Poo. Swimming poo. Wif me!" she pointed vehemently at the lake, her frustration with him cracking Sam up.

"Oh you mean swimming pool?" she nodded excitedly, "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"I did!" she giggled.

"That's not a swimming pool. That's Lake Ontario. Were you trying to trick me?" he winked at her. "Can you swim?"

"I can float! I have wings!" she pointed to her little inflatables circling each arm.

"Do you have some for me?"

"No. You can swim, Samo."

'Well that's a matter of some debate' he thought to himself before saying out loud, "But I just ate two hamburgers. What if I sink like a rock? Will you promise to save me?"

She promised that she would indeed rescue him if he sank to the bottom of the lake so he drained the last of his Canadian and stripped off his T-shirt as he came around the table. "Well, let's go, Squirt" he offered her his hand and as she went to take it he surprised her by flipping her and throwing her up over his shoulder, fireman carry style, earning an ear splitting squeal.

"Samo!" she giggled, her tiny fists bouncing ineffectively off his back, "Put me down!"

As he passed the end of the table he smacked Spike lightly upside the back of his head, "Spikey! Let's go."

"Go where?"

"To cool off before our first game," he motioned toward the lake.

Spike, who still couldn't quite bring himself to kiss Natalie in front of her brother, gave her knee a little squeeze as he stood up to join Sam. "I guess I'm going swimming. Wanna come?" When she just raised her eyebrows at him he said, "Okay. We'll put that down as a no."

"Nat, have some manners and stop hogging my baby," Sam scolded as they were walking off toward the water, "give someone else a chance."

Spotting Sophie he stopped to let her know he was taking Izzy for a swim. "I've been coerced," he smiled pointing at the little bum on his shoulder.

"I see that," Sophie laughed, "that means my secret plan to stay out of the water today is working."

"So that's how it is. I guess she knew who the easy mark was."

"It's possible I may have pointed her in the right direction. I figured at least one of you was a lock," she grinned, "When is Natalie going to give up that sweet baby of yours?"

"My sister never learned how to share so she will not give her up voluntarily, you're going to have to ask, but she sees JJ like three times a week so you have my permission to take her by force if you have to."

"Good to know."

"Alright, well I need to go toss my little bundle here in the lake."

"Nooooo! Samo! Down!" Izzy giggled, "Spikey! Help meeee!"

"Spike did you hear something?"

"Nope. Not a thing. You?"

* * *

Jules was feeding JJ while watching her husband and Spike make short work of Donna and Sarge on the volleyball court when Wordy dropped into the empty chair beside her. "Hey Mama."

"Constable Wordsworth," Jules smiled, nodding, "How's things in the shady world of guns and gangs?"

"Oh you know," he leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs at the ankles, "It'll never be the same as the SRU but it certainly has its moments. How's parenthood?"

"Oh you know," she parroted his words back to him, grinning, "It certainly has its moments."

"It seems to fit you two like a glove."

"We're kind of making it up as we go along but she's a good girl. She makes it pretty easy. And Sam's great."

"Have you talked about what you're going to do?" took two bottles of water out of the cooler beside his chair and offered one to Jules.

"Thanks. You mean when my mat leave is over?" at Wordy's nod she continued, "We're trying hard not to think about it too much right now and just enjoy this time. Things can change so fast anyway that we can't really make any decisions until we're a lot closer. The one thing we do know is that IF I go back to SRU we'll have to be on different teams –for one thing it makes sense from a child care perspective if we're not working the same shifts. For another, I don't think we'd ever convince them we could maintain priority of life now and they'd probably be right. And we want to minimize the situations where both of her parents are on the same call," she left the rest unsaid because it was too awful to consider.

"Understood. IF you go back? Are you thinking about maybe not going back?"

She sighed heavily, "I just don't know Wordy. I can't really imagine doing anything else right now but we probably want another one and biology being what it is, time isn't exactly on our side and if I get back into fighting shape I might not be in a big hurry to give it up so fast. There are just so many things to consider."

"Where does Sam stand on the whole thing?"

"Behind me one hundred percent. He said he will support whatever I want. He wants his own team so if something comes up while I'm on leave, he'll jump at it but he's flexible too. You see why we don't want to think about it yet?" she half laughed, as she eased JJ out from under the blanket covering her so she could burp her.

"You guys will figure it out," he assured her, "but just know that even if it doesn't seem like it now, there is life beyond the SRU."

"And it has its moments?" she smiled at him.

"It does. And now… may I?" he held out his arms.

"Of course, you may."

* * *

Sam and Spike were chilling out having a beer while watching Jules and Winnie battle it out with Natalie and Raf to see who would play them in the final game for all the marbles and more importantly the bragging rights, when Marina made her way over to them with the baby. "Sam, I believe your little angel here has a present for you," she said in the universal code for "I draw the line at changing your kid's poopy diaper."

"Well now," Sam shot her a cheeky grin, "that sounds like the person you need to talk to is Uncle Spike."

"Me?" Spike sputtered, "She's your kid. Why is that my problem?"

"All suspicious packages shall be referred to the explosives and demolitions expert for investigation, evaluation, containment and disposal. Seriously, does none of this sound familiar to you?"

Spike looked slightly panicked for a second but then recovered, "Nice try, Samtastic. She's yours, do it yourself."

"Fine," he grabbed the diaper bag and took JJ from Marina, secretly thrilled to have a few minutes alone with his baby. "Hey Froggie," he said to her as they walked away in search of a flat surface that wasn't covered in sand, "Daddy's missed you. I've hardly seen you all day. So here's the thing - it looks like mommy and Winnie are going to win their game. So that means that mommy and daddy are going to have to go up against each other, which gives you a bit of a dilemma. I just wanted to let you know that it's okay to cheer for mommy. I know you don't want her to know that daddy is your favourite, at least not while she's still in charge of the food supply. I get it. So daddy will know that even if you're cheering for mommy on the outside, you'll be cheering for him on the inside. Okay? Okay!"

* * *

It was a couple hours later when Jules came to find Sam with one very unhappy baby. She'd fed her, she'd burped her, she'd changed her, she'd bounced her, she'd walked her and nothing was working because JJ was just flat out overtired and truth be told, so was Jules. "Hey Babe," he said sympathetically, "she giving you a hard time?"

"She's just fussy. She desperately needs to sleep but she can't seem to get there. It's time to work your magic," she handed her off to him.

"You okay?" he asked, rubbing her lower back with his free hand.

"Just exhausted," she gave him a tired smile, "I'll be fine. Go make her happy."

"Yes, Ma'am," he dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head, "Go relax. Have a beer – you've earned it."

Sam wandered down the beach with JJ, bouncing her gently and rubbing her back while talking softly to her the whole time, "See Peanut, happier already. Just had to get away from the action for a little bit. Let's see if we can find some sleep for you down this way. We'll find some nice shade and have a little lie down, maybe a story – instant nap. A few minutes later he found the spot he was looking for and climbed up to sit on the top of the empty picnic table tucked back under the trees. He put his feet on the bench and laid the small blanket across his lap before lowering JJ to his thighs letting her little feet rest against his stomach. He pulled off her tiny hat and tucked it in his pocket before offering her his thumbs to hold on to. "There now isn't that better? If this isn't the perfect place for a little snooze, I don't know what is."

Toes on the bench, heels raised he bounced his knees slightly, the movement combined with the softness of his voice lulling her to contentment but not quite to sleep. "So, this is the spot. This is where daddy proposed to mommy. But I'll be honest – it almost wasn't. It all seems kind of silly now, knowing how everything turned out, but daddy wasn't always so sure what mommy would say because – well, because mommy kind of put daddy through the ringer once upon a time. She had very good reasons and it doesn't really matter now except in the way it all matters because it brought us to here. Anyway, daddy felt like everything needed to be just perfect."

He'd had the ring for months – hadn't even really been looking for it when he found it. He'd been in the jewelry store looking for a trinket of some sort for Jules for Valentine's Day when the perfect ring had presented itself. It was so perfectly Jules that in the end, he'd left with the necklace and the ring, knowing he wouldn't need the latter for awhile. He was absolutely ready to propose. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with Jules, but because their relationship was still a secret it wasn't really fair to ask Jules to make that decision just yet. He was aware that he wouldn't just be asking her to marry him; he would also be asking her to choose him, to choose them, potentially to the detriment of her own best interests and career.

Then one day they weren't a secret anymore but he realized that even though he had done the only thing he could do, the day he had literally left her dying on the floor of the lab was perhaps not the best day to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. And then there was the picnic. He had brought the ring with him that day – wanted to ask her before the decision came down, wanted her to know that he was in either way, that he was confident that they would figure it out. Then the call had come so quickly, he missed his moment and when it had come down in their favour, he hadn't wanted to upset the status quo. There had been some adjustments at work but ultimately things were better than they had ever been and he didn't want to mess with it. The next time he had been making a plan, their shift had ended in the emergency room.

"As it turns out, Daddy is not very good at forced vacation, so I spent the next three weeks driving mommy just a little bit crazy. So maybe it wasn't the very best time, but it was starting to look like that was never going to happen anyway and I just couldn't wait anymore. So the day before it was time to go back to work, we spent the day down here together and I did it. I asked her. I don't remember what I said, probably because I couldn't hear it on account of the blood rushing in my ears – so you'll have to ask mommy someday – maybe she remembers what I said. Anyway, she did that little thing where she covers her mouth, like she wants to hide how excited she is but you can see it all in her eyes anyway, and she said 'yes'. And then she smacked me in the shoulder and said, in that tone that she gets – you know the one, "Geez Sam! What took you so long?"

And she was asleep at last.

He wasn't sure how long they had been there when Jules wandered up to the table. He held out his arm and she climbed up to sit beside him, scooting in close, putting her head on his shoulder. "Do we need to head back?" he asked quietly.

"No, everyone's packing up. I said your goodbyes for you and put everything in the car so we can head back whenever." She gave a tired sigh, "I'm pooped."

"Good day?" Sam asked her.

"The best. This little stretch of beach has been really good to us."

"Nowhere in the world I would rather be."

**A/N 2: Thanks for sticking with it this far – just wanted to give a quick shout out to CTI_Jenn whose comment in a review inspired the whole gun scene and also I am pretty sure I stole the explosive diaper/Spike thing from someone – with their permission but can't remember who now. If it was you let me know and I'll fix it to give you credit. Hope you enjoyed it – reviews are loved and appreciated! **


	3. The Potato Salad Incident

**A/N: So this doesn't exactly follow chronologically – but there was a throwaway line in the picnic story about Jules' "famous potato salad" that I decided needed a little embellishment. Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading and favouriting and following and especially those who are taking a few moments to review and tell me what they think – it really does mean the world to me! **

**Disclaimer: not mine. Except Froggie – who is conveniently sleeping for the whole story! **

The Potato Salad Incident

Sam trotted down the stairs, headed for the kitchen, "She must have been totally wiped. She was practically asleep before I even got to the nursery."

Startled, Jules turned around quickly, "What are you doing? I thought you were going to take a shower after you put her down for her nap?"

He shrugged as he yanked opened the fridge door, "I was thirsty." He bent over and peered into the fridge, finally pulling out a bottle of water before turning around. "There's no rush is there?" he asked, wondering why his normally unflappable wife sounded so flustered.

"No, no. You just surprised me, that's all," she said quickly, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to block his view of the counter behind her.

Sam, using his height advantage to look behind her and his training to assess the situation quickly, decided this was going to be fun. He leaned back, resting his hips against the counter, and uncapped the bottle. "I think the more interesting question here is 'what are _you _doing?'" he asked grinning, blue eyes full of mischief.

"First – this isn't what it looks like." Jules started to explain, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Well that's good. Because what it _looks _like is that what you've been passing off as your "famous potato salad" is in fact Costco potato salad."

"Okay, it's a little bit like what it looks like," she conceded.

"It _looks,_" he continued, warming to his subject, "like my wife is a big fat liarpants."

"I didn't actually lie?" she inwardly cursed the way her voice went up at the end.

"Is that a question?"

"No, it's not. I didn't lie." She said somewhat more convincingly.

"So, like ten minutes ago when you told me you were going downstairs to make the potato salad, you weren't lying?" he took a long drink of his water looking at her skeptically over the end of the bottle.

"I said I was going downstairs to put the finishing touches on the potato salad," she insisted, "it's not my fault if you assumed –"

"Oh, no you don't," he cut her off mid sentence, "We are not turning this around on me over semantics. Especially since "finishing touches" consisted of what? Taking the lid off and dumping it in the bowl?" she nodded sheepishly, "And this has been going on for how many years?"

"A few," she busied herself rinsing out the container and throwing it away as if its mere presence was somehow working against her. "I never meant to lie."

"I'm all ears. Do tell," he prompted, enjoying watching her squirm probably more than was strictly healthy.

She snapped the lid on the bowl and tucked it away in the fridge then she boosted herself up to sit on the opposite counter so she was almost the same height. She sighed heavily and began, "I _do_ have a potato salad recipe – a really good one – so I signed up to make it for the picnic that first year with _every_ intention of doing just that."

"But…?"

"But then we had back to back shifts that ran long with tough calls and I never had time to make it. So on picnic day I stopped at Costco and bought some. We were a smaller group back then and I didn't want a bunch of it to go bad so I _innocently,_" she emphasized the word, "transferred some to a smaller bowl to take with me."

"Sounds perfectly reasonable," he said agreeably.

"Right? And then at the picnic, Sophie said how much she liked it and I was about to tell her where it came from and then Clark called her for something and the moment was over and I never said anything. Then a few weeks later Ed had a BBQ and I was going to take something completely different – chocolate chip cookies – and Ed says to me 'you're going to bring your famous potato salad, right?' And I was a rookie and he was … well, Ed… and I didn't think I could say no."

"And so it turned into a thing?" he handed her the water bottle.

She took it from him nodding, "And it just got bigger and bigger until I couldn't say anything," she took a sip of water. "And you can't either," she said emphatically, pleading with her eyes for him to understand. "I'll never hear the end of it."

"Mmmm, I don't know… you've been duping me too. For _years._" he shrugged, "I might need some convincing."

Understanding dawned all at once – the eye contact, the prompting, the agreeability, the water – he was negotiating her and she had walked right into it. Dammit. She found herself wondering briefly whose bright idea it had been to cross train the snipers. "Convincing, huh? What do you want?" she asked, resigned.

Sam pretended to consider it, "I want you to make me some of those chocolate chip cookies – from scratch. I don't want fraudulent cookies out of a bucket or something," he winked at her.

"Fine. But not until the heat wave is over. It's too hot to use the oven right now," she could negotiate too, even if he did have the upper hand, "Are we done here?"

"Nope," he grinned at her, smug, "I don't know Jules, you were always the one who was all worried about 'teams and secrets' and 'how long can we do this'"

'What else, Sam?"

"I want you to come have a shower with me," he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Now?"

"No, when the heat wave is over," he said sarcastically, "Yes, now."

"But I already showered this morning. I don't need a shower."

"But I need a shower, and you need my silence. That seems like a perfectly fair trade to me," he crossed over to her, standing between her knees and putting his hands on her hips.

"But I'm already dressed for the picnic," she whined.

"We bring that potato salad as a family now Jules – you've made me complicit in your big fat lie. And JJ – just think of the example you're setting for our daughter."

"Oh shut up," she said laughing as she smacked him lightly in the chest with the half empty water bottle.

"Too far?" he shot her a sheepish smile.

"Too far," she confirmed, "but you've made your point. So I come shower with you and we're square? You'll keep my secret?"

"Yeah. But you know what I mean by 'shower' right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Sam. Cracked your code."

"Just checking."

"Remember when you first joined the team and you couldn't negotiate your way out of a paper bag?"

"Nice, Jules," it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"I kinda miss those days," she grinned.

"That's it, let's go," he picked her up off the counter but instead of setting her down, he surprised her by throwing her over his shoulder, fireman carry style.

"Sam!" she squealed, "Put me down!" she smacked his ass with the water bottle she was still holding.

"I'll put you down when I'm good and ready to, brat!" he trudged up the stairs.

"I'm not giving you cocaine jackass," she giggled, imitating one of his most embarrassing moments from training.

"Do you really think mocking me is your best strategy right now?"

"Best strategy? You mean like yelling at the subject and calling him names so he gets pissed off and shoots your future wife in the head?"

"You are so going to pay for that," he laughed as he dropped her on their bed and quickly followed. He sprawled on top of her effectively pinning her but supporting most of his weight on his arms.

"I thought we were going in the shower," she said as he ran a trail of kisses from her ear down to her collarbone.

"We are," he replied but didn't stop what he was doing.

"And yet?"

"Might as well make it worth it and get all hot and sweaty first," he grinned, unrepentant.

"Wait," she said, trying unsuccessfully to push him away, "Sam! Stop for a second. I can't think straight when you're doing that."

"That's kind of the point, Jules," he muttered still intent.

"Sam!"

He sighed heavily but reluctantly pulled his lips away from her neck. "What?"

"This is forever right?"

"I seem to recall we said some vows to that effect yes," he said looking confused.

"Not_ us_, you ding dong. I know that," she giggled, "_This_. Our deal. Like you're not going to make me renegotiate your silence every year, are you?"

"No."

"No it's not forever, or no you're not going to make me renegotiate."

"What, do you want me to sign something? Like a non-disclosure agreement?" he joked.

"No. You're a man of your word. If you say it, I'll believe you."

"You want me to raise my hand and swear on a bible or an SRU manual or something?" he smirked.

When she just raised her eyebrows at him he said, "Fine. I, Sam Braddock, promise to keep your stupid potato salad secret for as long as you want me too," he paused, "unless Toth comes after me with his scary lie detector machine and then all bets are off."

"Sam…"

"Look, I can do the sniper breathing and regulate my heart rate but if he starts word associating potato salad or side dishes - I just can't make any promises."

"You," she said as she cupped his face with both hands, serious brown eyes meeting twinkling blue, "are a ridiculous man."

"But you love me anyway, right?"

"Copy that," she pulled him down for a kiss.

* * *

Much later as she was standing at the vanity in the bathroom, getting ready for the second time that day and Sam was beside her, towel around his waist, shaving, she caught his eye in the mirror. "You know, she said thoughtfully, "Your negotiating could still use some work."

"How do you figure?" he asked, "and keep in mind if you're going to keep sweet talking me like that I am not above throwing you over my shoulder and making you get ready for a third time today."

"Just, you really had me over a barrel – you could have stuck me with something really gross like the diaper pail or garbage duty for a month or whatever. I mean it's not exactly like I'm a tough sell on the shower. I'm just saying."

Sam used his towel to wipe the last of the shaving cream from his face and towel off his hair before hanging it over the shower rod. "Here's the thing though," he said smirking, "I could give a crap about where your potato salad comes from – I'd have kept your silly little secret for nothing. This was just more fun!" he sauntered into the bedroom to get dressed. "And I get cookies!"

**A/N 2: Thanks so much for reading! Reviews rock my world! **


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